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Journalism of Courage
A united Opposition can take on the BJP and prevent Narendra Modi from being the Prime Minister in 2019, Congress president Rahul Gandhi said here on Tuesday. He said he stands a chance of replacing Modi if the Congress emerges as the single largest party in the next general election.
Speaking at an interaction at the inauguration of Samrudha Foundation, a think-tank “to propagate liberal, secular and republican values’’, Rahul said that a convergence of Opposition parties will lead to the downfall of the BJP in the next Lok Sabha polls.
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“As a political analyst, I will tell you — you may laugh over what I say — that it is highly unlikely that the BJP will form the next government. And it is close to impossible that Narendra Modi will be the Prime Minister of India (after next polls),’’ Rahul said. “The deadliest thing in Indian politics is Opposition unity — it will smash everything in its path. Mr Rajiv Gandhi had 415 seats and 40 per cent of the vote (in 1984 elections), but he could not withstand Opposition unity.”
Rahul said he is confident that if the Opposition is able to come together, and if the Congress is able to act as a platform, the BJP does not stand a chance. “The question, in my mind, is what does that government look like — (one) that has so many different parties. (But) I can say one thing for sure: Mr Modi will not be the Prime Minister, and I can see that in his face.”
Asked whether he could become the Prime Minister in 2019, Rahul said it would depend on the Congress’s performance. “If the Congress party is the biggest party, sure I will be,’’ he said. Rahul said that all Opposition parties had resolved to “remove the BJP and RSS from power’’.
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Answering a question on how long he expects the Congress to be in political wilderness, Rahul said, “An opposition alliance in UP — whether it is (of) three parties or two parties — will ensure that the BJP does not get more than five seats. The BSP, SP and Congress are at 70 per cent (vote-share). That will take the BJP straight to 200.
“At 200 (Lok Sabha seats for BJP), Mr Modi is not going to be the Prime Minister because no ally will support him — they will favour Mr (Nitin) Gadkari or somebody else. That is the math.”
If you do the math, in the entire northern belt the Congress ended up with practically zero seats last time. (But) there is no way we are getting less than 20 seats in Rajasthan; there is no way we are getting two seats in MP — we will win in MP — and there is no way we will get one seat in Chhattisgarh…. If you remove UP and Bihar, you have a BJP that is unlikely to win the election.”
